How Can Acupuncture Improve Fertility?

How Does Acupuncture Work?

Centuries ago, the first acupuncture practitioners discovered that many ailments can occur if Qi, your body’s life force, is blocked at any point. They began using tiny needles to restore the flow of Qi and relieve the symptoms of many diseases and conditions. Today, acupuncture is used to treat a range of health issues, including allergies, headaches, back and neck pain, high blood pressure and depression.

Acupuncture Reduces Stress

Stress causes a variety of physical symptoms, ranging from headache to upset stomach to infertility. When you are stressed, your adrenal glands secrete a hormone called cortisol. Although cortisol plays an important role in regulating your blood pressure, blood sugar level and immune system function, high levels caused by chronic stress can eventually cause thyroid problems, high blood pressure, blood sugar imbalances, and other health concerns.

High levels of cortisol can also affect your hormone levels. When these levels are less than optimal, it can be harder to get pregnant, and you may even stop ovulating in some cases. Stress may also affect the ability of a fertilized egg to implant in your uterine wall, due to fallopian tube and uterine spasms. Chronic stress may lower your partner’s sperm count or affect the sperm’s ability to move through the female reproductive tract.

Acupuncture offers an effective way to reduce stress and increase your chances of becoming a parent. Acupuncture triggers the release of endorphins, natural chemicals that not only help you feel more calm and relaxed, but also help regulate your menstrual cycle.

Acupuncture Has a Positive Effect on the Hormones That Control Your Ovaries

Your ovaries do not just release eggs on their own. Ovarian function is actually controlled by hormones released by the pituitary gland and hypothalamus in the brain. Acupuncture helps support the relationship between your ovaries and these brain structures, which can improve ovulation and egg production.

Blood Flow Increases After Acupuncture Treatment

Improved blood flow is one particularly important benefit of acupuncture treatment. Your ovaries and uterine lining become thicker when blood flow increases, which can create a better environment for a fertilized egg. When blood flow increases, your ovaries can use the hormones released into your bloodstream more efficiently.

Acupuncture Can Make In Vitro Fertilization Treatment More Effective

You don’t have to choose either traditional fertility treatments or acupuncture when you want to have a baby. The best approach involves a combination of these methods, in addition to the use of herbal medicines. If you plan to try in vitro fertilization (IVF), begin acupuncture treatments at least three or four months before your first IVF cycle for best results. No matter what fertility treatment you try, acupuncture can help enhance it and improve results.

Are you interested in learning how acupuncture can improve your fertility? Call us today and schedule an appointment to take advantage of the many benefits of acupuncture.

Herbs That Can Help Improve Fertility

Herbal medicines, when used in conjunction with acupuncture, can help you become pregnant. Ask your acupuncture practitioner if one of these herbs might be a good choice for you.

Red Clover

Red clover contains isoflavones, plant compounds that behave very much like estrogen. Drinking a red clover infusion can help balance the environment of the vagina, improve the efficiency of the reproductive system, make the reproductive tract more hospitable to sperm, detoxify the blood, and regulate the menstrual cycle.

Chasteberry

Chasteberry comes from the chaste shrub that grows in Central Asia and countries near the Mediterranean Sea. Although it’s been used to treat menstrual symptoms for hundreds of years, it is also an effective fertility treatment. One-third of the participants in one study became pregnant after taking chasteberry for five months. Chasteberry can increase progesterone levels and improve ovulation.

Wild Yam Extract

Wild yams contain diosgenin, a substance that is similar to progesterone, a hormone that plays an important role during pregnancy. Wild yam extract helps balance the female reproductive system and may help prevent miscarriages. It can also relieve nausea caused by morning sickness.